Not much of a map person, I wasn’t overly excited about the Scarborough 350th anniversary map project when it was first announced. In fact, my first reaction was to yawn, though I knew my friend behind the project is far from a yawn. If anyone could make history fun and exciting, Tom Sesto could. His energy and creativity always capture my interest.

When the final map product was unveiled recently to the 350th committee, my jaw hit the floor. Not only was it stunningly beautiful, but also the history of Scarborough and its historic timeline was there before my eyes. Rebecca Hauk excitingly proclaimed,” It’s a perfect visual history teaching aid!” This piece is alive, engaging and beckons you to feast your eyes on Scarborough history.

Scarborough artist Debbie Merrill volunteered her time and gave it her artistic all. The finished product is a collage of drawings and informative text superimposed on a geographical outline of Scarborough. Done by hand with colored pencils, the map beautifully captures the elements of our culture and history.

Merrill’s drawings convey exacting details and descriptions of historic life in Scarborough. In the center of the map appears the likeness of an Indian, as recorded in the diary of John Jocelyn in the early 1600s, when he made an exploratory voyage to the area: “…as for their persons, they are tall and handsome timbered people, pale and lean black-eyed and generally black-haired, both smooth and curled wearing of it long…” Jocelyn’s journal spoke of an abundance of wildlife. The map captures these records in illustrations of a bald eagle, heron, shellfish, and of course, a lobster. A wooly mammoth represents the tusk found on Scottow’s hill in 1959.

A wagon wheel loaded with hay that caught my eye. From this drawing, I was able to learn how dependent early settlers were on the abundant grasses in the Scarborough marsh to feed and bed their animals. This unique feature explains why Scarborough was attractive to early settlers – unlike other neighboring towns, settlers didn’t have to stop and clear forests for pastures and were spared harsh winter perishes. Settlers to Scarborough weren’t without other challenges, which included violent exchanges with local Indians during the time of the French and Indian wars. Despite garrisons built for defense – depicted on the map as a blockhouse – the settlement burned and was abandoned in 1690 and the town’s charter was carried back to Boston. Though Boston isn’t on the map, the Boston Post Road is.

The harvesting of the king’s pines along Broadturn Road is depicted by a team of oxen. Tall, straight pines were cut, selected and reserved by a local mast agent for the king’s navy. Local settlers objected, believing that far more pines were harvested than could possibly be used. This caused deep resentment among settlers. The penalty for cutting a tree emblazoned with the king’s mark was hanging. But that didn’t deter enterprising locals, some of whom rebelled in the so-called “White Pine War.”

The beautifully illustrated map is complete with descriptions for the drawings and sidebars of important dates and events researched by Sesto, and Rodney Laughton, president of Scarborough Historical Society. Local antique dealer Floyd Hartford and history enthusiast Pat Dunn helped with the layout and design of the map. This 100 percent volunteer effort, funded privately, is a donated fundraiser for the 350th celebration.

I’m sold on this map, and I’ll bet you will be, too. It’s a fun way to navigate your way around town and learn Scarborough’s history. This beautiful piece will be unveiled and available for purchase at on Election Day. There’s lots of good reason to go to the polls – catching a first glimpse of this masterpiece adds to that list.